inches; wing, 12 to 14. Weight, from four to seven 

 pounds. 



Female Total length, from 20 to 22 inches; wing, 



10 to 12. Weight, from three to five pounds. 



COLUMBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE 

 (Pediocaetes phasianellus columbianus) 



The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is the "prairie 

 chicken" of eastern Washington. It is far different 

 from the pinated grouse (Tympanuchus) of the middle 

 states, commonly called prairie chicken. Its habitat 

 is much the same, however, being the open plains and 

 untimbered foothills east of the Cascade mountains in 

 Washington and through eastern Oregon into northern 

 Nevada, and the extreme northeastern corner of Cali- 

 fornia. The sharp-tail grouse has the same habit of 

 strutting in large groups like the prairie chicken at the 

 beginning of the nesting season. They do not drum, 

 however, like the eastern bird, but make a noise more 

 like an attempt to crow. They also take refuge in the 

 timber for protection from the storms of winter. 



During the hunting season they lie well to a dog and 

 afford fine shooting. The food of the sharp-tailed grouse 

 consists of about ten per cent insects, the balance being 

 made up of seeds, grains and berries, with a good per- 

 centage of "brouse" in the winter. 



Color Male Side of head and throat, pale buff with 

 mottlings of brown on the cheeks ; back and wings, gray, 

 mottled with black; breast, light buff. Under parts, 

 white with lines of dark brown; central tail feathers 

 long and pointed; no long feathers on the neck. 



Female Resembles the male with the exception that 

 the tail feathers are not so long. 



Nest and Eggs The nest is a rude affair on the 

 ground, lined with a little dead grass and generally 

 contains from ten to fifteen eggs of a greenish buff 

 speckled with fine dots of brown. 



Measurements Total length from 14 to 16 inches, 

 with the wing about eight; the central tail feathers are 

 about five inches in length. The average bird will weigh 

 about two pounds. 



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